Focus. Techniques to find your success in digital tumult.

“The digital world is not blurred out of focus – only your mind is. Set aside your goals, and prioritise what you need to accomplish each month towards what may become your goal.” ~ Maria Lehtman

The lost focus of digital living.

Overwhelmed? Anxious? Concerned? Torn between options, news streams, networks, platforms, tools, priorities…? Keeping your focus is becoming more difficult. Some 10 years ago I started digital photography and kept it as a serious hobby and a passion job next to my day job. It balanced my life during a time I felt I had lost myself to a career.

Focus on a smaller and deeper perspective – in landscapes, portraits, details, architecture

Narrow down multiple options to a manageable concept

Get outdoors, even when I did not otherwise quite feel like it (there is always a reason not to…)

Travel to business locations a day earlier to capture new sites, and get settled for the upcoming meetings

Get to know new people, new ways of looking at the world and different cultures

See beauty even when it was not obvious

Create a presence and stay in the moment

Apply creativity faster and more effectively

Inspire people and share experiences

Bring nature closer to people

“When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence.” ~ Ansel Adams

The Art of Focus.

We might think that focus is easy to keep.

It is extremely difficult. Behind the camera, you would like to capture everything in that fine landscape stretching beyond the horizon. Instead, you need to find windows of it, patterns, texture, atmosphere – a deeper connection.

What finally gets through the process may be completely different than what you set out to find. And much better. The focus should never be too tight to suffocate spontaneity. Neither should it be too wide to scatter your thoughts.

Digital living works with the same principle. There are many ways to build networks and spend your time. What matters is what you achieve by doing it. If you photograph to bring joy and create content – what do you network for? Do you prioritize to excel in what you are interested in? Does it bring value to others? To you? It should not steal time from anyone.

“In photography, there is a reality so subtle that it becomes more real than reality.” ~ Alfred Stieglitz

An Adobe evangelist once said that you never have to worry about moving on in photography. Your work will always be better than it was before.

She was right. Whatever we decide to focus on and develop, will evolve. We will become better. It is the benefit of repetition and rehearsing.

The important rule to remember is that it is not the device, the target or the method that needs the focus. It is you. Your inner-self, your mind. The greatest digital engine ever created is already inside you. You do not need an instruction manual for it. Just a healthy, quiet moment every now and then to let the world drive by – you’ll catch it at the next turn. After all, time is not linear.

“To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place… I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.”
~ Elliott Erwitt

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About the Author

Maria Lehtman has over 20 years of Sales, Marketing and Professional Services experience from the telecommunications and travel industry. She has successfully managed complex T&T programs in management roles. She has operated a number of years as a freelance photographic designer (B2B, B2C). Her writing covers digital age topics e.g. leadership, personal transformation and empowerment. Her writing represents her own view of the world.